10 Nov 2025

 Botswana and De Beers Group have signed new agreements marking a shared commitment to long-term national prosperity, youth empowerment, and sustainable economic diversification.

Delivering the State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA) on November 10, President Advocate Duma Boko said under the new arrangements, Okavango Diamond Company (ODC) would access an increased portion of Debswana diamonds starting at 30 per cent, rising to 40 per cent, and ultimately reaching 50 per cent over the agreed period.

He said the extension of Debswana’s mining licences to 2054 would enable the company to deliver long-term value from its existing mining assets and pursue mine life extension projects.

“Another key feature of our new agreements is the increased focus on marketing natural diamonds to preserve the long-term value of diamond assets,” President Boko said.

To this end, he said government was partnering with De Beers to plan, fund, and execute global strategic marketing initiatives aimed at enhancing the desirability and demand for natural diamonds. One such initiative is Desert Diamonds, which was recently launched in the United States.

Further strengthening this commitment, the President said Botswana became a founding signatory of the Luanda Accord in June 2025, a landmark pledge by diamond-producing nations and industry leaders, through the Natural Diamond Council, to boost global consumer demand for natural diamonds.

“Since signing, Botswana has actively engaged with fellow diamond-producing governments to build support and momentum for this shared vision,” he said.

While reaffirming government’s drive to diversify the mining sector, President Boko emphasised that diamonds would remain a key contributor to Botswana’s economic growth and transformation.

“In this regard, concrete steps are underway towards the acquisition of Anglo American’s shares in De Beers. Government will leverage a majority stake to align the industry with Botswana’s national development goals of economic diversification through beneficiation,” he said.

As part of the beneficiation strategy, the President announced that approximately P1.4 billion would be invested in the construction of a plant for the production of critical mining chemicals essential to the battery minerals sector.

He said the plant, which would be located in Palapye would be Southern Africa’s first integrated facility of its kind, benefiting from direct railway access linking it to Sowa Town, where soda ash, the main input, would be sourced, and further to regional markets. ENDS